Regrowth
by DiamondGamer
Summary: Frisk is reunited with humanity, and so are all her monster friends. She has a family to go back to, and chooses to do so, but finds the decision costly. (Post True Pacifist, still in progress. T for later chapters. Frisk is female in this one.)
1. Imperceptus

"I have places to go."

Frisk said it quickly, with nonchalance, turning her head towards the sunset as if none of the conversation had occurred. Toriel fell silent, and the child could easily tell she recognized the reluctance in her voice - still, she chose not to argue or press the issue further. Frisk took one quick glance at her face - soft and melancholy, with tired features. Not too different from the first time they'd been separated for good.

Frisk knew they'd inevitably stay in touch with her friends - they would stand out very easily amongst a sea of individuals unused to a change of pace in their boring lives. At the same time, it felt like they were severing what tied them to those creatures; the child had been among them for so long, anything else seemed like a new, intimidating discovery that they wouldn't embrace for all the world.

"Alright."

She offered Frisk her warmest smile, taking a small, hesitant step backwards, as if hoping the other would have a change of mind, which was a tempting fate. Frisk moved a lock of brown hair away from their face, shrinking in the silence, trying to locate stolen words. "I'll see you around."

The child observed Toriel's slow, steady movements, and her figure gradually shrunk in the distance.

* * *

They had been embraced back into a stranger's home with a torrent of tears.

She did not recognize the scent of the building, her own, spacey room, and most definitely not the eyes of brown that were locked onto her for as long as they were in the same room. It was a lone figure, slim, pale, with dark strands framing her face, and an expression of confusion when Frisk addressed her as 'Miss'. There were far more photos, far more strangers pestering her than necessary, and Frisk merely hid her face every time. At some point, her guardian seemed to take the hint and started continuously shooing them away, though they came back, trying to drain the woman of details from _her_ point of view, even though the most she knew was that she'd lost something and gotten it back, by all means.

The house was uncomfortably large, with more rooms than either of them knew what to do with. One of them was hers, stuffed with items she did not care for, a bed, and many, many paintings. She stayed cooped up in it for days, re-acquainting herself with the sheets, the pillows, the mattress, the discarded notebook of emotions she had long forgotten, and grudgingly allowed entrance to the woman who insisted that she would be addressed as 'mom'. Her mother never stayed for long, forever busy with nothing Frisk wanted to know about, although she had stayed around for the first couple of weeks, weeping over her worries and expressing how glad she was to have her little girl back. Frisk sensed uncertainty, but reluctantly lied back.

She slipped out of bed every day, navigating through a labyrinth and locating a kitchen space, where she helped herself to whatever was available- and then went right back into the room. It was more than enough for her to entertain herself with filling up the notebook to its end with adventures, as she tried to desperately cling onto every single image that remained from the underground. She was aware that the privacy of said notebook had been breached far prior to her arrival, and quietly tucked it far under the bed every night.

It took a little while more before she started occupying the living room, reading the magazines that had been piled up on one of the tables and changing the channels on their TV. She frequently watched the news - they talked of her a couple of times, addressing my mysterious disappearance and the coincidental appearance of an alarming number of monsters from a supposedly sealed place. There were a few reports of her friends, still establishing themselves within the community with wide smiles, and she eagerly watched every each one of them.

"Not those freaks again."

Frisk grew tense - she eyed her mother sprawling on the couch beside her, grimacing in disgust at the images that flashed on the TV. "Ech, _monsters_. I don't know why they haven't massacred them all yet. They're only trouble." Frisk winced, silently biting on her lip. "Why not just watch a documentary or one of those stupid cartoons instead? At least they don't condone bullcrap like this does."

Frisk obediently pressed a button on the remote, watching her mother's expression shift from one of resentment to a more relaxed one, and sunk down a little, unfocused. The other carefully lifted her up on her lap - she was still pitifully small for her age - and only softened her grip when she fell asleep, allowing Frisk to sneak out, still suffering from the stiffness.

She did not remember that person as nice.

Frisk longed to leave again - there was still a lingering feeling of estrangement from a world she hadn't known for a while, but it was still a world. She'd lost her phone on the way out - a pity, as it would have been an interesting attraction - and, after a little while, begged her mother for a new one, only to be met with skepticism.

"Yeah? To call whom? Your friends? I haven't ever seen you make any, my dear."

Swallowing her pride, Frisk insisted. Her guardian merely raised her eyebrow, but did not object further, and provided her with one the very next day.

She dialed the first number that popped into her mind, breath hitched as she held up the device to her ear. It rang, and it rang, until a figure picked it up, sleepily (and not so nicely) demanding to know who was bothering them at such an inconvenient time. (It was noon.)

Frisk grinned from ear to ear at the familiar tone.

"It's me. We haven't talked in a while, have we?"


	2. Timor

"HEEEEEEEEYY!" The voice from the other line boomed after a minute of silence which Frisk interpreted as a moment of realization. "You little wimp, where have you BEEN?! We've been worried SICK, it's been nearly a month! Where are you? You're safe, are you not?"

"I'm fine. I went home," Frisk interrupted, puffing out her cheeks. "I had to hide until the hype for me died down. I don't know why I was of such importance, but now it's alright... I think." She didn't think she would be genuinely glad to receive a scolding from Undyne right at this moment, but it felt a relief regardless. "Are you getting along well?"

"Sure. Your kind were really hostile at first, but then we kinda sorted it out and they gave us lodgings and asked us questions and broadcasted us live. You and us both, we're famous." She fell silent for a brief moment, as if evaluating her own view of the events. "They don't like us too much, but the feeling is mutual. I doubt they'd try anything, not a second time, at least, but they have still been looking at us weirdly, you know?"

Frisk nodded her head to nobody and nothing in particular, tightening her grip on the phone. "They'll get used to you in no time. Just try not to scare them. They can't afford to start a war with no grounds on it, and with you declaring peace, anyway. Have you been in contact with the others?"

"Obviously! If I'm going to have company, it's not going to be some puny humans. We share a house because we can't exactly afford separate lodgings, and it's not always pleasant, but it's the best we can do. Why don't you come visit? They've been missing you and would probably be a little angry that you haven't at least written. I know I am."

Frisk glanced at the door, eyes gleaming. "I can come, yeah. Can I have the address, first?"

She searched the drawers for a piece of paper and a pen and began scribbling, scratching out, and frustrating Undyne with her requests that she repeat herself, but in the end managed a coherent writing of an address she did not recognize. Eagerly, she delivered her thanks and hung up, then headed to her room, searching the drawers for anything decent to put over her head that wasn't a nightgown she'd been wearing around the house for the past few days.

She contemplated on leaving her mother figure a note of explanation, but decided against it and rushed out of the house, out of the gates, and onto the streets where she approached a few individuals, pointing at the piece of paper and asking for direction. It had been fairly easy to navigate in the Underground, but the surface was awfully difficult in comparison.

In the end, she boarded a bus, the driver of which hummed a bizarre, familiar greeting, as if addressing an old friend. Frisk paid them little attention, climbing onto one of the free seats with a window view and taking in the vivid scenery before it suddenly started moving, turning everything outside into a blur. She flinched at the bumpy movements of the vehicle, but relaxed quickly, looking over the passing houses, wondering whether any of her friends were situated in them.

An announcement of one of the stops caused her to snap out of a daydream, and she quickly descended down the stairs and onto the pavement, observing her surroundings anxiously. There were a row of shops in front, and she studied them with each step, wondering if there's anything worth buying.

The house, hastily and vaguely described over the phone, wasn't as big as Frisk had imagined it to be - its paint was peeling off, and the building did not look too strong, but seemed to provide a decent shelter for all it was worth. She swallowed, ambling towards the entrance and rapped her knuckles upon the door, taking a step back - she received no response for the first couple of minutes, and raised her fist to knock again.

Only this time, the door was flung open.

"HUMAN, IT'S YOU!"

Well, that wasn't Undyne, but he seemed equally happy, beaming at Frisk like she'd just been raised from the dead. She smiled back, albeit unsure of how to respond to this statement. "WELCOME TO OUR HUMBLE ESTATE. I DO HOPE YOU'LL STAY AROUND?"

"If you'll have me," She responded timidly, stepping in once granted entrance. "I meant to get in contact, I really did, but it wasn't very safe."

It looked significantly better from the inside - well-furnished, with colourful wallpapers gracing the wall. Frisk glanced around in admiration. "UNDYNE DECORATED. HALFWAY THROUGH. I DID THE REST," He said proudly, "I'M GLAD YOU'RE HERE, HUMAN. IT'S BEEN LONELY EVEN WITH EVERYONE LODGED IN HERE."

Frisk's smile dissolved into a frown. "It's been lonely at home, too."

Soft, squeaky footsteps padded the floor, prompting both of them to turn, gazes meeting a small, yellow chubby figure, obviously confused by the commotion. "What's all that noise for, Papyrus? _Oh-_ "

In came a few more, following Alphys' step - a puzzled Toriel and a pajama-clad Undyne, both disoriented as they cast their eyes upon the child. Once realization dawned, they all seemed to brighten, and Frisk rushed to give each a hug (though Alphys stiffened, much to her disappointment).

"Well, I'll be damned! You're not bad at following instructions after all," laughed Undyne, raising her arms in the air. "We should celebrate. I'm going to go crazy if I have to spend another minute in this house with any of you."

Toriel nonchalantly averted her gaze towards one of the windows in thought. "It IS a nice day outside. Say, Frisk... do you like ice cream?"

Though Frisk was not sure what they were celebrating, ice cream was a sound idea, and none of her friends seemed fond of being cooped up in the residence, even with entertainment, hence why they made their exit, chattering amongst themselves as if nothing had changed. Frisk remained silent throughout, occasionally popping in with a question or a response to one, but otherwise kept her eyes fixed on the road. She figured from their interaction that they fought frequently and felt no surprise to learn of this.

Frisk felt a strange pang of anxiety, as if it was going to be their last moment properly together. It was likely an irrational thought, but she savoured every second anyway, eagerly attacking the frozen treat she was being treated to and trying her best to be actively involved. At a point, the conversation died down, and Frisk's phone rang, causing her to jump. She pressed the phone to her ear, her face crumbling barely a second after she picked up.

"Okay. I'm sorry," She eventually said, piercing the strange silence. "I'll be back as soon as I can."

"Are you in trouble?" piped up Alphys, concern written over her features as Frisk ended the transmission. "Maybe we shouldn't have invited you."

"I'm not in trouble." Frisk replied, her voice wavering a little. "Don't worry about me. I'll try to keep in touch, I promise." The leftover cone from the treat cracked a little under her grip, and she rushed off, giving them a quick wave of goodbye. Her stomach churned, and she found a feeling of dread every time she found herself a little closer to where home was situated.

 _Not again._


End file.
